L's Little Secret
by Ixcalia
Summary: L has a secret that he's been keeping for all his life, one that is only known to him and Watari, but he's ready to reveal it. But this little secret just may keep him from finishing the Kira Case. LXLight in later chapters. Rating may go up later.
1. Chapter 1

Eh, not much to say. Just a random story I decided to write, and, hopefully, finish.

Chapter 1:

L stared at the brightly lit monitors, unblinking. It was three in the morning, and all the task force members had long since fallen asleep. Even Light, handcuffed to L, sat in the chair next to him, his head against his chest and his breathing even and heavy. But, there would be no sleep for L. He couldn't miss a second of information; even the smallest detail could make the biggest difference in the Kira case.

Sighing, L pushed away from the monitor, against his mind's wishes. The chair he sat in wheeled away slightly, pulling the chain that connected him to Light taut. It was times like now, when the entire task force wasn't paying attention to him, that L liked to think. He often wondered what it would have been like to live a normal life. There had been a day, nearly six years ago, that he had experienced a short moment that made him feel like he was normal, but it was short lived. Now, there was only one thing that he had to remember that moment…

A shadow caught L's eyes, and he looked up to the door, only to see a dark silhouette rush away. L blinked, keeping his eyes locked on that spot, before reaching in his pocket and pulling out a small key. He unlocked his side of the handcuffs and glanced at Light. He probably shouldn't leave him without supervision, but…

Before he realized what he was doing, L was standing in front of a large oak door on the floor just below the roof. He could here a quiet cough from the other side of the door, followed by a quiet whisper and the sound of a pill bottle rattling around. Cocking his head, L quietly pushed the door open to see Watari standing over a bed that a small girl sat in. He was handing her a pill with a glass of water, staring at her sympathetically.

Long, black hair covered the young girl's face, but L could see her silver colored eyes peeking out, looking up at Watari tiredly. A pair of small glasses was carefully balanced on the bridge of her nose, which was currently a bright red. L frowned, his black eyes widening slightly and his thumb going to his mouth.

"Watari," L murmured, catching the elder's attention. Watari turned to him in surprise, his own glasses nearly falling off with the sudden motion.

"Ah, L," Watari sighed in relief. "I thought that someone else had followed Lily to her room, but," Watari frowned. "Shouldn't you be watching the monitors? And where's Light?"

"I don't feel like working tonight," L murmured, looking to the young girl, Lily, with a questioning look. The dozing five year old seemed oblivious to anyone around her. "What's wrong with Lily?"

Watari seemed startled by L's refusal to work, but turned to Lily with a worried look. "She's got the flu. Unfortunately, I've had a hard time managing her, and I think it's getting worse. I assure you L, had the proper medication and just needs some sleep right now."

L pulled his thumb from his mouth and walked over to the large bed that Lily was laying in. Lily glanced at him, her eyes lighting up slightly, before once again going dull and slowly closing. Watari frowned solemnly as L watched the exhausted girl fall asleep.

"Watari," L began, turning to look at him. "I need to speak to you; I feel that you would be able to give me the proper advice."

"You know I will do my best to give you advice, but there's something I feel I need to tell you. Actually, it's something I need to ask of you." L nodded his agreement and led Watari to his own room. After allowing Watari in, L looked out to make sure no one was nearby, before closing and locking the door behind him.

"Now L—" Watari began, only to be interrupted.

"If you don't mind, I would prefer to speak first." Watari nodded and waited for L to continue. "I've been thinking a lot lately, whenever I have a moment of peace, and I've noticed that I am struggling to keep my thoughts focused on the Kira case. Instead, I've been thinking about continuing my role as L, but also living a more normal life; at least where Lily is concerned."

"In other words…?"

"In other words, Watari, I want to start taking care of my daughter as a father should. I shouldn't have to keep her hidden from the task force or stay away from her for days on end, just to finish a case. I feel like I've missed enough of her life and I don't want to miss anymore." L looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "And that is what I've decided. I'm going to be a better father, for Lily."

Watari stared at L intently, before smiling slightly. "I'm proud that you've made that decision, L. In fact, I was going to suggest that we send her to Wammy's House. I didn't think it was fair to keep her from you all the time. After all, you should know very well what it's like to feel parentless. She'll be happy to know that she won't have to hide anymore. But, how do you think the task force will take it? And what about Light?"

"Lily is a well behaved girl. I have no worry that she will be a bother to any of the task force members. As for Light, if he is Kira, he will not even make an attempt on her life, knowing that such an action will make him look more suspicious." L walked over to the door and opened it. "Now, I'm going to keep an eye on Lily and see what I can do to help her recover quicker."

"Very well L," Watari said, following him out the door. "Just call if you need anything." L froze and looked over his shoulder at Watari's retreating form.

"A piece of cake and some tea would be nice," he said, before going back into Lily's room and climbing into a chair that sat beside her bed.

* * *

Light slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room tiredly. Matsuda's snoring could be heard echoing through the large room, much to his annoyance. It was hard to sleep with _that_. But there was no sound of a chain rattling, or the sound of fingers gliding across a keyboard. Light looked over to the seat where L would usually sit, night and day, but there was nothing. In fact, L's side of the handcuffs was lying carelessly on the floor. Strange…

Gathering the length of the handcuffs, Light walked across the room and peeked out the door. There was no sign of L, but Light could see Watari walking up the steps to the next floor. Now that Light thought about it, he didn't recall ever seeing someone go up there before. Quietly, Light closed the door behind him and followed Watari up the steps, being sure to keep a safe distance. It wouldn't do to be caught sneaking around while being temporarily freed, but he supposed the cameras in the hallway would reveal him sooner or later. However, on this floor, it didn't seem to matter.

"No cameras?" Light asked himself quietly, looking around. "That's not like you Ryuzaki."

He glanced around a corner, watching as Watari walked into a room with a piece of cake and a cup of tea. L was undoubtedly in that room. In fact, it was the only room on this floor.

"Why have another floor added to this building for just one room? You're so strange Ryuzaki," Light muttered, moving closer to the door. He could see light pouring into the hall from the room. _Lilac_ colored light. Light raised an eyebrow at that. He pushed the door opened slightly and looked around in shock.

The room was huge, explaining the need for the entire floor. The walls were painted a lilac color, but covered in the silver outlining of different mythical creatures. There were unicorns, griffins, fairies, and others. The ceiling, however, was completely covered with the figure of a large dragon, looking down at all the occupants. As girlish as it was, it was an amazing sight.

Light glanced around more, before his eyes rested on the bed that was in the far corner of the room. There sat L, reaching to take the cake from Watari, but in the bed was a child; definitely the last thing Light expected to see. In fact, the girl looked kind of like L with her black hair and pale skin. Light frowned thoughtfully. It wasn't possible for L to have a child, was it? He was L after all. He was too busy for something like that."

"It seems pointless for you to just sit there, gawking. You can come in Light-kun," Light shook himself free of this thoughts and looked up to see L staring at him, fork poised, and ready to dig into his cake. "I hardly see what's worth staring at Light-kun. Have you never seen a child before?"

"I just…what is a child doing here? It's too dangerous!" Light said, narrowing his eyes. L cocked his head to the side nonchalantly, placing his cake down on a side stand.

"Though I'm sure you've already made the connection, I'll confirm it to you; Light, this is my daughter, Lila. And I'm perfectly aware how dangerous it is, but I'd rather have her with me where I can keep an eye on her. I'm perfectly capable of keeping my own daughter safe." L looked down as Lily groaned quietly, eyes clenching tightly together. "Please, Light-kun, keep your voice down. She's sick and needs all the rest she can get right now."

"You called her Lila?" Light asked, looking around the room again. Everything was Lilac. Lilac. Lila. "Let me guess: you gave your own daughter an alias based on her obsession with the color Lilac." L gave one of his smiles and Light felt his stomach flip. Why did he always feel so strange when L smiled?

"A very good observation Light-kun. You're correct; I'm not willing to give out Lila's real name to anybody. Especially under our current circumstances." L twiddled his toes thoughtfully. "I plan on revealing her to the rest of the task force tomorrow. I want to keep her close to me and spend more time with her, but I will continue on with the Kira case. I don't wish to neglect her anymore than I already have."

"Its your decision Ryuzaki, but don't you think revealing her to them so suddenly will bring up some unwanted questions?" L blinked and gave Light a confused look.

"Unwanted questions? Such as…?" Light sighed and rubbed the back of his head thoughtfully.

"Like…how did she happen?" Light answered, thinking of the first question that had popped into his head.

"Considering many of them are fathers themselves, I'm sure—"

"No Ryuzaki. That's not what I mean. Think more along the lines of who the mother is." L's gaze immediately fell away from Light and to the floor, and for a brief moment, Light could see a look of sadness cross over L's face.

"Her mother's dead; died while giving birth."

"I'm sorry," Light mumbled awkwardly, looking at the floor. This was not the kind of conversation he ever thought he'd have with L.

"Even with difficult questions such as that, I'm still going to reveal her to them. I don't think Lila should have to stay in hiding all the time, and she never gets to see me. It will be a nice change of pace." L suddenly smiled again, looking at Lila with a strange glint in his eye. "Who knows? Maybe she can help us with the case."

Light stared L's eyes, trying to place the glint that had crept into his usually blank stare. It was so familiar. "Maybe," Light muttered, finally recognizing the shine in L's eyes. It was a look his father often gave him. "I'm sure she will." It was a look that every child loved to see their parents give them.

It was a look of pride.

Yeah, there's the first chapter. More of Lily in the next chapter, if anyone's interested. Review and tell me what you think and if you think something needs changed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

The next morning, L reluctantly woke Lily up around eleven. He knew she needed her rest, but he had to continue his work on the Kira Case. Lily groaned as she was lightly shook, grumbling and swatting at the offending hand, much to L's amusement. But, she opened her eyes nonetheless; her large silver eyes met L's black ones. A large smile broke out on her face and she climbed over into L's lap, forcing him to sit normally, and hugged him tightly.

"Daddy! Are you already done with the Kira Case? I want to hear all about it!" L cocked his head at the excited girl, giving her a guilty smile.

"Well, I'm not finished with the case. I don't know how long the case is going to take, but that's not important right now. How do you feel?" he asked, placing a hand on her forehead. She was fevered, but not as she had been the night before.

"I feel a little better," Lily mumbled, but L could hear the congestion in her throat and she kept breathing in deeply through her nose, trying to clear it out so that she could breath properly. "But, daddy, if you didn't finish the case, how come you came to visit me?"

"I'm glad you asked. That's exactly what I want to talk to you about right now," L answered, patting Lily on the head. "There are times when I work on cases and they get me thinking about things, such as you. Sometimes, they make me question the way I raise you, which, with all the cases I'm responsible for, I haven't done well enough. So I decided that I would rather have you with me while I work on the cases instead of having you lock yourself up and hide all the time."

"So," Lily started, nibbling on her index finger as she thought his explanation over. "No more staying in my room all the time?"

"Not unless you want to," L said, picking up the five year old in his arms. "But, while I'm working on this particular case, I will refer to you as Lila for safety reasons. I'd rather no one be told your real name, understood?" Lila nodded her head quickly and L smiled. "Now, if you could go get ready, we can go so that I can continue my investigation."

* * *

Half an hour later, Lila (I'll call her that unless her and L are alone) followed close behind L, looking around the building curiously. L was taking her to where all the work took place and planned on introducing her to the rest of the task force, but, like L, Lila was unused to interacting with people. She never had a chance.

L walked into the room and all eyes turned to him, but it was short-lived. All eyes moved from him to focus on Lila who looked around the room, more interested in the computers than she was the occupants. Their stares pulled her attention to them, however, and she stared nervously, stepping closer to L.

"L," Soichiro began, looking at Lila with wide eyes.

"So Light wasn't joking!" Matsuda exclaimed, coffee spitting from his mouth. Lila smiled cutely as Matsuda, choking on the coffee that had managed to go down his throat, dropped his cup into his lap. The steaming coffee began to soak through his pants, making Matsuda cry out and stand in surprise.

"That was…very clumsy of you," Lila murmured, amusement ringing in her voice. "You're funny; I like you." Matsuda looked at her, laughing nervously.

"Uh, thanks, I think," Matsuda rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly, looking down at the large wet spot on his pants.

"Matsuda, why don't you go clean yourself up?" Soichiro said, picking up the discarded cup. "Be quick though. We need to continue the investigation as soon as possible. It's already passed eleven." Soichiro gave L a pointed look, though L pretended not to notice.

L pressed his thumb against his lips, pursing them thoughtfully. "Lila, these are the men I'm working with to catch Kira. That is Aizawa, Mogi, Soichiro, and his son, Light Yagami. The one from earlier is Matsuda. Everyone, this is my daughter, Lila. Now, if we're done with the introductions, let's continue."

"What about me?" a high pitched voice came from behind L. He turned around just in time to see Misa grab Lila and pull her close in a tight hug. "I'm Misa! Oh, I can't believe Ryuzaki has a daughter; especially one as cute as you!"

"N-Nice to meet you," Lila murmured, keeping her eyes on the floor shyly. She squirmed slightly, trying to free herself from Misa's grip to no avail. Misa caught the hint, however, and let go of her, examining her curiously.

"Hmm…I know! You and I should go shopping one of these days! I'm sure I could find you some cuter clothes than that!" Lila looked down at her clothes in confusion, a loose, lilac colored T-shirt with random silver patterns and light blue jeans.

"I like my clothes," Lila said flatly. She examined herself in one of the black monitors and shrugged. "I don't see the need for fancy clothes. I never go anywhere and I have no one to impress."

"Well, I guess there's nothing wrong with those clothes. They really bring out your eyes," Misa lightly patted her on the head, much to Lila's annoyance, and skipped over to Light, grabbing onto his arm. "Oh! Light! You're not handcuffed to Ryuzaki anymore? Finally! Let's go celebrate, right now!" She tugged on Light's arm, but L went over and reattached the cuff to his wrist. "You're so mean! Can't we just go on a date; just one?"

"Of course, Misa, but as you've already learned, it will be the three of us. If Light really wants to go on a date with you though, go right ahead." L moved away and took his place in front of the monitors. Misa huffed and turned away, pouting childishly.

Once Matsuda returned, L began to review their current focuses. It seemed that Kira had taken a strange turn, focusing on the Yotsuba group's rivals as well as continuing his judgment on criminals. This hinted that there was a high possibility that Kira was among Yotsuba's employees, or even employers. Right now, they were trying to work a plan out to prove their theory correct.

Lila sat on one of the couches, glancing between L and a book that she was reading. Without all the details, it was much too complicated for her to understand what was happening. Sighing, she shrugged and turned her full attention on to the book that she was reading.

"So, what are you reading?" Matsuda asked, sitting beside her. Lila glanced at him before turning back to her book.

"It's called Temeraire. It's about the war against Napoleon, but they added an air force of dragons to it. It's really interesting." Matsuda hummed and looked at the cover curiously.

"But…it's in English. You can read it?" Lila nodded, eyes skimming the pages of the book. "Well, you are Ryuzaki's daughter. Guess I'm not really surprised, but how'd you get it?"

"Me—a friend from England sends me books that he thinks I'm interested in. He should be sending me the fourth book of this series any time now." Lila glanced overtop her book to see L looking alarmed, before he nodded his head approvingly.

"Sooner than you think, in fact." Watari walked in and handed Lila a package. Lila cocked her head and opened the box that the package had been sent in. She pulled one item out; it was carefully wrapped in tissue paper with a large **M** on it. Lila pulled the paper off and quickly stuffed it back in the box before it could be seen by anyone and examined the small statue that it held.

It was a phoenix; wings spread wide, standing on a small platform. It was made of glass, but it changed colors when held up to the light. Lila stared at it thoughtfully, raising a brow in confusion.

"What is it?" she asked, gently running of her fingers across its wings. Watari cleared his throat and looked at it closely.

"That, Lila, is a phoenix. It's a mythological creature; it was said that when one died, it turned to ashes, but was reborn in those very ashes." Lila's silver eyes lit up and she held it more carefully, trying to avoid getting fingerprints on it.

"A phoenix, huh? Watari? Could you please take it to my room? And try not to get any prints on it!" Watari smiled and carefully took it from her, leaving to take the item to her room.

Lila reached back in the box and grabbed the last item: a book. She immediately opened it and began to read it without a word. Matsuda sighed and turned away so that she could read.

"You know, I once read that girls are great at multitasking. Now, aren't you a part of this investigation? Matsuda, right?" Lila asked, skimming through the book the entire time.

"Yes, but—"

"Well then, shouldn't you be over there trying to help?" Matsuda sighed and looked at the floor.

"I would, but since I'm the junior officer here, no one will take me seriously. Whenever I do try to contribute something, its something that's completely obvious. Everyone thinks I'm an idiot." Lila closed her book and glanced at the other occupants.

"Any opinion should be helpful, whether its obvious or not. All things need to be said out loud. Watch," Lila stood up and walked over to L, lightly tugging on his shirt to catch his attention. "Daddy? Listening to your conversation, I have to wonder: you did mention that it could be one of Yotsuba's employees, but wouldn't it be more likely to be one of their higher ups? They would probably have more information about the other companies available to them."

L turned to Lila, taking a bite of cake thoughtfully. "It's a good observation," he began with a mouth full of cake. "A very good observation. I'm sure everyone here was thinking the same thing, and now that its been narrowed down that far, we need to decide how to find out which one of them is Kira." L reached over and grabbed another chair, pulling it close so that Lila could climb up. "If you want to help, you might as well sit here where you can pay attention. I'll explain as much as we know about the case later."

Lila nodded and climbed into the chair, listening intently. Matsuda stared at her wide-eyed. She had no problem pointing out the obvious, and no one seemed to mind either. He walked over and leaned close to her. "How old are you?" he asked quietly. She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes and smiled.

"Five, almost six," she whispered. Matsuda stared. He was being outdone by a five year old?

"You really are Ryuzaki's daughter," he muttered under his breath.

"Hmm?"

"Oh, nothing." Matsuda turned his attention from Lila and continued to listen to L's words.

* * *

Another night of staring at monitors, reading over false leads and reading over data that he already knew. L grabbed a handful of sugar cubes and dropped them into the cup in front of him. Everyone was asleep; everyone except for Lila. She was trying her hardest to stay awake, staring at the monitors blankly.

L sipped at his tea before noticing Lila's tired expression. He pressed a button and began to speak into a microphone. "Watari," he began before pausing. Lila looked up at him sleepily, yawning and shaking her head. "Never mind Watari."

L, once again, removed the cuff from his wrist and tossed it aside. He carefully picked Lila up and made his way out of the room and up the stairs. Lila's small arms wrapped around his neck, her eyes slipping closed. Opening her door, L took her over to her bed and laid her down, pulling the covers over her.

"Are you staying?" Lila asked quietly, grabbing a white, stuffed bunny from beside her pillow. L stared at her for a moment, before nodding. He pulled the covers back and climbed into the bed beside her, putting his arm around her.

"I suppose it won't hurt anything," he murmured, playing with a strand of Lila's hair until she fell asleep.

**Review if you wish!**


	3. Chapter 3

Yay! I went from one review on the first chapter to six reviews on the second! Thank you for your support everyone! A note that I would like everyone to read: **Once I reach a certain chapter, I will begin writing another story; an alternate version of this one.**

Chapter 3:

L's slowly opened his eyes, the sound of people whispering waking him from his rare sleep. L could see Lila sitting on a couch, a laptop in her lap, with a web cam attached to the top of it. She was talking quietly, but excitedly, and the person on the other end could be heard snickering now and again.

"Daddy's actually letting me help with the case! Not that there's much that I can really do to help, but it's nice to be included." Lila kicked her feet restlessly, shifting the microphone from one hand to the other.

"So he's letting you help? Speaking of which, how is the Kira case going?" A deep voice asked. A softer voice could be heard cheering something in the background. "Matt! Shut up; I'm trying to talk here!"

Lila laughed childishly, "Sorry Mello. I'm not supposed to talk about the case; for all I know, you could be Kira!"

"Well, Mels is definitely twisted enough!" Matt called, laughing as he ducked Mello's punch.

"Fine," Mello muttered, glaring at Matt. "Hey, did you get the stuff I sent you?" Lila smiled and nodded.

"Yeah! I've been waiting for the next book for nearly a year, and the phoenix you sent was really pretty!" Mello looked away and nodded.

"Uh, yeah, I thought you'd like it," he muttered. Matt glanced back, putting his game down and moving towards the computer screen.

"Don't let Mello fool you. He sent the book, but the phoenix came from Near. Mello's just trying to make it seem like it was his idea." Mello huffed and narrowed his eyes at Matt.

"Don't you have a new game to be playing somewhere?" he grounded out. Matt just grinned and moved away from Mello and back to his game.

"It's okay Mello. I like the book a lot; you know that I love to read!" Lila hummed thoughtfully and cocked her head. "What's with the sudden presents though? Aren't you all usually busy with school work?"

"We usually are, but Roger gave us a day off and allowed us all to go to the mall nearby to buy some new stuff for ourselves. I figured that it would be nice to get you the book since you recently sent me some of that Godiva chocolate, which, by the way, I loved. And I guess Near felt he should get you something since you sent him that finger puppet making kit. He hasn't stopped messing around with that thing since he got it. I think he's made a puppet for everyone in Wammy's House." Mello grimaced at the thought of the little puppet of himself that he had seen Near making.

"And I loved the game you sent me; I would have got something to return the favor, but I only had just enough money to buy a new game that I wanted. Sorry!" Matt laughed to himself.

"It's fine Matt. I don't need anything." Lila blinked and looked up as L walked into the room. "Good morning Daddy! Uh, did I wake you?"

"No, but, are you talking to Mello and Matt?" L asked, crouching down on the couch beside Lila. "Hello Mello."

"H-Hi L!" Mello stuttered, shaking his head and dropping the chocolate bar that he had picked up. "Are you almost done with the case? Will you be visiting soon?"

"Well, I won't deny that there has been a break in the case, but I believe that it's far from over. I'm sorry Mello." Mello sighed in disappointment, before shrugging.

"It's fine L. But, you are going to catch Kira, right?" L smiled, standing up.

"Of course I will. I promise Mello. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go continue the case now. I've slept far too long." Lila watched as L walked out of the room.

"I'll be there soon!" she called, looking back at the monitor. "Why do you get so excited when you see him Mello? Anyone would swear it's your first time meeting him."

"I don't mean to get so excited, but I…envy him, I guess." Mello rubbed the back of his head and grabbed the chocolate bar off the floor. "Anyway, you should probably go catch up to L. You don't want to miss something."

"Yeah, that's true. Okay, I'll talk to you later Mello!" After a quick response from Mello, Lila turned the web cam off and stood, getting ready to leave her room, but something caught her eye. It was a chessboard, crowded in different mythological pieces. Lila stared at it for a moment, eyes examining it closely before a smile crept onto her face. She grabbed it and placed it on a table.

"Eight pieces for Yotsuba," she muttered, setting up eight of the pieces in a circle. A Cyclops, a Minotaur, a Centaur, a Maticore, a Chimera, a Hydra, a Scylla, and finally, the Grim Reaper to represent the Yotsuba Kira. "But…which one's which?"

"Lila?" Lila jumped and looked towards her door as Watari peeked in. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to see if you wanted something for lunch. It's already noon."

"It is?" Lila asked glancing at the clock. Sure enough, it was only a few minutes pass noon. "No, I'm not hungry right now." She looked over the other pieces on the board, running her fingers over them. "Watari? Why does daddy keep Light handcuffed to him?"

"Because Light was suspected of being Kira, and L isn't ready to give up that theory." Lila's brow furrowed in confusion. She picked up the Grim Reaper piece and rolled in around in her hand.

"But didn't he just say that a person from Yotsuba had to be Kira? Why would he still suspect Light then?" Lila sat the Grim Reaper piece in the center of the board and sighed. Everything was so confusing.

"L is positive that at some point, Light was indeed Kira. If that's the case, then he could have passed that power on to someone else to try to prove his innocence; L isn't ready to believe that Light is not and has never been Kira." Lila pursed her lips and pushed the chessboard away from her.

"If daddy suspects him, then there has to be some truth to it. Actually, when I think about it, I've seen him a few times while I was wandering around. I always felt nervous whenever I got close to him. I thought it was just because I wasn't used to being near people, or because I was scared of getting caught, but if daddy thinks he is or was Kira, then maybe it's just a sixth sense sort of thing." Watari laughed quietly and patted Lila on the head.

"You'll make a fine detective one day Lila. You're always suspicious of everyone, and in a sense, that's the main quality a detective needs to have." Lila's cheeks turned a light pink and she smiled, obviously flattered. "Now, why don't you go down and see if there's anything you can help L with. You don't want to miss something."

"I'll go down in a few minutes," Lila mumbled, walking back towards her laptop. Watari nodded and left the room. "I want to talk to Near. He'll talk to me about the case." She reached over and turned the web cam on once more. The screen flashed for a moment, before Near's image appeared on the screen.

"Oh, hello Lily." Near's soft voice made Lila smile and a light blush appeared on her face. Near's hand went up and began to twist a strand of hair. "Do you need something?"

"Actually, yes. First, can you call me Lila for now? Daddy doesn't want my real name used right now." Near nodded.

"I can do that. Now, what do you need?" Lila looked away shyly, fiddling with her fingers, much to Near's amusement. It was no secret that the little five-year-old had a childish crush on him.

"Well, I was just wondering: you've been following the Kira case, right?" Lila looked back up to the screen, looking at Near curiously.

"Yes. I believe everyone in Wammy's House has been following it. In fact, I managed to convince Matt to hack L's system and get me more information on the case." Lila frowned at that.

"You really shouldn't do that. This case is really important and all that information is supposed to be confidential. If daddy found out that Matt hacked his system…well…he wouldn't be happy about it," Lila mumbled. Near gave her one of his childish smiles.

"Mello did the same thing; in fact, he probably has more recent data." Lila sighed heavily. The lengths that the Wammy children went through to get the upper hand on one another.

"Fine. Then, I suppose you know about Light Yagami. What do you think about him?" she asked, pulling her knees to her chest. Near looked away thoughtfully for a moment.

"Well, if I were handling the case, he would be my main suspect. In fact, I'd have to say with decision that he is or, at least, was Kira. It's obvious from L's data that something's changed with him. If that's true, then perhaps his power to kill people has been transferred to another person." Lila frowned again, looking to the floor.

"That's exactly what daddy thinks apparently, but I can see him slowly beginning to trust Light more." Lila's eyes widened and she looked at the screen with fear plain on her face. "What if it's all an act? If Light's trying to get closer to my daddy so that he can kill him without being suspected; he's getting too close. I-I can't let daddy trust him!" Lila gripped the cloth of her pajama pants tightly, tears welling up in her eyes.

"You shouldn't get so panicked then. Think of what you can do to keep L suspicious of Light Yagami and be sure that he doesn't reveal anything to him. Do whatever it takes to keep L from trusting him."

"And if I'm wrong about Light?"

"Then it all comes down to this: What are you more afraid of? Being wrong, or losing L?" Lila's eyes widened in realization. Lose L? Lose the only person she had in the world?

"Lose…him?" Lila whispered, wiping her eyes. "Near, please, what can I do? I need your help."

"I don't know how things stand between L and Light right now. I don't know what would make L become more distrusting of Light," Near turned away, lost in thought. "Give me a couple of days. I'll contact you once I think of something. Until then, see what you can do." Lila nodded in confirmation and the screen went dark.

* * *

Lila slowly made her way towards the computer room of the HQ, a book in hand. She needed to think of something, anything that would keep L from trusting Light. Sighing, Lila pushed the door to the computer room open.

"Matsuda, you idiot."

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